Stock futures fall before data; fiscal cliff looms

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures fell on Friday, with Wall Street bracing for a fifth day of losses, on worries negotiations between the White House and Congress may not break the budget impasse.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
US:DJH3
fell 70 points to 12,958, while those for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index
US:SPH3
fell 9.4 points to 1,401.30.

The economic calendar is thin on one of the last trading days of the year, with the Chicago PMI due at 9:45 a.m. U.S. Eastern time. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expect the index to come in at 51.0 in December versus 50.4 in the prior month. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion.

Then at 10 a.m. Eastern, the National Association of Realtors will report on pending-home sales for November. In October, pending sales rose 5.2%.

Equities managed to pare losses on Thursday on news of last-ditch efforts to salvage a deal to avert the U.S. fiscal cliff. After dropping below the key 13,000 level for the first time in three weeks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA, -0.32%
recovered from a 150-point drop to finish at 13,096.31, a fall of 18.28 points. Read: Cliff maneuvering helps stocks trim losses

“Futures are trading lower now because the question is why would we move higher based on just another meeting out of D.C.,” said Adam Sarhan, founder and chief executive officer of New York-based Sarhan Capital.

He added, though, that markets could rally if any upbeat headlines come out of Friday’s meeting, on the hopes that a deal will be reached Sunday. That’s partly due to the fact that volumes are thin and just a few players can move markets dramatically at times.

“Markets in general are taking a wait-and see-approach. They can turn on a dime, up or down, depending on the next headline out of D.C.,” said Sarhan.

Futures took no inspiration from a rally in Asia stocks, as investors there clung to hopes that U.S. lawmakers will reach a deal before the year finishes next week.

Shares of Hewlett Packard Co.
HPQ, -0.33%
could move ahead of the market open. Media reports said that the U.S. Department of Justice is looking into the tech major’s allegations that before it acquired Autonomy Corp., the U.K. software firm provided improper accounting statements.

The Wall Street Journal quoted a statement from Autonomy’s former CEO, Mike Lynch, that no regulators had contacted him and that “we will cooperate with any investigation and look forward to the opportunity to explain our position.”

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use.
Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. Intraday data
delayed per exchange requirements. S&P/Dow Jones Indices (SM) from Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All quotes are in local exchange time. Real time last sale data provided by NASDAQ. More
information on NASDAQ traded symbols and their current financial status. Intraday
data delayed 15 minutes for Nasdaq, and 20 minutes for other exchanges. S&P/Dow Jones Indices (SM)
from Dow Jones & Company, Inc. SEHK intraday data is provided by SIX Financial Information and is
at least 60-minutes delayed. All quotes are in local exchange time.